The Black Angels

A powerful true story of the courageous Black nurses who worked at a sanatorium in New York City in the 1920s and 30s, doing the job nobody else wanted to do: caring for victims of tuberculosis, long before there was a cure. These remarkable women came to the city, lured by promises of good pay, a career, and a life away from the injustices of Jim Crow, only to find themselves isolated in a dreary hospital where patients were sent to die an often gruesome and slow death. Erased from history until now, these nurses played a vital role in… show more.

As part of my work as a tour guide and history author, I’m always on the lookout for books that explore lesser-known aspects of New York City’s history. This is an extraordinary read with beautifully researched and crafted writing. There were so many little details she provided that I thought made this book stand out.

It started in 1929 when White nurses taking care of tuberculosis patients at Seaview Hospital on Staten Island started quitting en masse for various reasons. With promises of better pay and to escape Jim Crow, Black nurses from the South came to the hospital to… show more.

The Black Angels contains all the things I crave in a book: heroic women who’ve been erased from history; women who took on the prejudices of society and refused to be kept down; glorious writing that weaves a riveting story with characters I came not only to admire, but also to love.